For many, Christmas is the time for gift-giving and gift-receiving. So, at the time leading up to December 25 one would find long lines at the checkout counters of stores. Under the Christmas tree the gifts pile up. On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, eyes light up with delight when one is handed a gift, and hands can’t wait to rip off the wrapper to get to the item inside.
Then the day after Christmas comes around. Once again lines are long at the stores. But this time, the lines are at the return or exchange counters. What was received wasn’t what one wanted or expected. The excitement has faded. Only disappointment or frustration remains. The gift is rejected and is returned or exchanged for something more acceptable.
When Christ came, excitement filled the air. Not only at his birth, but also especially at the height of his public ministry. Many were thrilled by the miracles that he performed; many were amazed at his wise and authoritative teaching. They would crown him king. But as it turned out, Jesus did not meet their expectations. In the end, they abandoned him to die on a criminal’s cross.
Yet, despite the rejection Jesus still fulfilled the purpose for which he came—to offer himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. And now salvation is available to those who would place their trust in the One who gave his life for their sake. And it is offered as a free gift: “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God” (Ephesians 2.8 NLT). “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6.23 ESV).
This is the gift that no one should reject. Scripture tells us that salvation is found in no other than Jesus the Christ (John 1.14; Acts 4.12). To refuse God’s offer of salvation is to refuse the greatest gift that anyone has to offer. Yet many continue to disregard God’s offer, even to reject it completely, to their own detriment.
“The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God” (John 1.9–13 NIV).
Salvation in Jesus Christ is the one true gift worth having.
—Keith Jainga